Penn State Volleyball Loses To Ohio State 3-2

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball lost to No. 6 Ohio State 3-2 (17-25, 15-25, 27-25, 25-22, 11-15) in front of a sold-out crowd Friday night at the Covelli Center in Columbus.

Penn State All-American and two-time NCAA national champion Megan Courtney met with the Nittany Lions during serve and pass earlier in the day. Fellow Penn State great Jonni Parker was in attendance for the match.

Kash Williams had a season-high 20 kills for the Nittany Lions (13-3, 2-3 Big Ten), while Leisa Elisaia had a double-double with 45 assists, 10 digs, four kills, four blocks, and three aces in the loss.

Zoe Weatherington finished with eight kills and four blocks against the Buckeyes (8-5, 4-1 Big Ten), but struggled with attack errors, as did Williams. Penn State’s middle blockers, Allie Holland and Taylor Trammell, had seven kills and five blocks apiece.

Ohio State, which was playing at home for the first time in over a month, relied on several standout performances Friday night, including a match-high 21 kills apiece from Gabby Gonzales and Jenaisya Moore.

Mac Podraza had 60 assists and 10 digs, while Kylie Murr recorded 20 digs. Moore was Ohio State’s only substitute of the match. The Buckeyes hit .312 to Penn State’s .203 clip, but the Nittany Lions finished with a 13-10 advantage in blocks and an 11-7 lead in aces.

Alexa Markley was one of five players to come off the bench for Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s squad, finishing with five kills, two aces, and a dig. Maddy Bilinovic and Gillian Grimes had eight and six digs, respectively, to pace Penn State’s defense.

The Nittany Lions will be back in Rec Hall Sunday at 1 p.m. against Illinois for their throwback match, where they will wear black and pink uniforms celebrating the university’s original colors. The Illini (8-7, 3-2 Big Ten) swept Maryland in College Park Friday night.

Box Score

Match Details

Penn St. Ohio St.
Set K E TA % K E TA %
1 14 4 36 0.278 19 2 32 0.531
2 9 6 25 0.120 14 3 27 0.407
3 16 3 35 0.371 18 4 32 0.438
4 12 6 36 0.167 12 9 40 0.075
5 3 4 21 -0.048 9 6 23 0.130
Total 54 23 153 0.203 72 24 154 0.312
Penn St. Ohio St.
Points 78 89
Kills 54 72
Aces 11 7
Blocks 13 10
Assists 48 69
Digs 42 69

Match Leaders

Penn St. – Leaders
Kills Kashauna Williams (20), Zoe Weatherington (8), Allie Holland (7), Taylor Trammell (7)
Aces Seleisa Elisaia (3), Alexa Markley (2), Gillian Grimes (2), Allie Holland (2)
Blocks Allie Holland (5), Taylor Trammell (5), Zoe Weatherington (4), Seleisa Elisaia (4)
Assists Seleisa Elisaia (45), Maddy Bilinovic (2), Cassie Kuerschen (1)
Digs Seleisa Elisaia (10), Maddy Bilinovic (8), Gillian Grimes (6)
Ohio St. – Leaders
Kills Jenaisya Moore (21), Gabby Gonzales (21), Emily Londot (12)
Aces Gabby Gonzales (3), Kylie Murr (2), Emily Londot (1), Sarah Sue Morbitzer (1)
Blocks Adria Powell (6), Emily Londot (5), Rylee Rader (3)
Assists Mac Podraza (60), Kylie Murr (4), Gabby Gonzales (2)
Digs Kylie Murr (20), Gabby Gonzales (13), Mac Podraza (10)

Penn State Stats

# Player SP K E TA % A E SA SE BS BA BE DIG BHE RE Pts
23 Kashauna Williams 5 20 10 52 0.192 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 22
20 Allie Holland 5 7 1 20 0.300 0 0 2 1 1 4 1 2 0 0 12
17 Zoe Weatherington 5 8 7 22 0.045 0 1 1 0 1 3 1 3 0 0 11.5
1 Taylor Trammell 5 7 2 14 0.357 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 0 0 10.5
5 Seleisa Elisaia 5 4 0 14 0.286 45 0 3 2 1 3 1 10 0 0 9.5
19 Alexa Markley 4 5 2 17 0.176 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 7
10 Anjelina Starck 5 3 1 12 0.167 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 3
3 Gillian Grimes 5 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 2
11 Katie Clark 1 0 0 1 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.5
2 Maddy Bilinovic 5 0 0 1 0.000 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 0 2 0
12 Cassie Kuerschen 3 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0
6 Mandi Morioka 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
Total 54 23 153 0.203 48 1 11 9 6 14 6 42 0 6 78

Ohio State Stats

# Player SP K E TA % A E SA SE BS BA BE DIG BHE RE Pts
8 Gabby Gonzales 5 21 8 51 0.255 2 0 3 2 0 2 0 13 0 5 25
18 Jenaisya Moore 5 21 4 34 0.500 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 22.5
22 Emily Londot 5 12 8 31 0.129 1 0 1 1 0 5 0 9 0 0 15.5
16 Adria Powell 5 8 2 14 0.429 1 0 0 0 0 6 0 2 0 0 11
20 Rylee Rader 5 5 1 15 0.267 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 5 0 0 6.5
10 Mac Podraza 5 5 1 8 0.500 60 0 0 1 0 1 0 10 0 0 5.5
6 Kylie Murr 5 0 0 0 0.000 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 2
1 Sarah Sue Morbitzer 5 0 0 1 0.000 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 8 0 4 1
Total 72 24 154 0.312 69 1 7 5 1 18 0 69 0 10 89

Box Score